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Ecommerce Drives Booming Canadian Warehouse Market

Canada’s largest multi-tenant industrial landlord sees its future growth prospects in ecommerce, according to a report in Bloomberg.

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust, whose major clients include FedEx and Best Buy, expects ecommerce to make up 50% of its Canadian warehouse portfolio over the next few years, up from 30% today, according to Chief Executive Officer Kevan Gorrie.

“We’re focused on growth in ecommerce,” Gorrie told Bloomberg. “I don’t think enough companies worry about obsolescence. We think about it all the time.”

Pure Industrial owns about 21 million square feet of space across more than 170 properties in Canada and the U.S. The company plans to expand that to 40 million square feet in Canada – including pursuit of Amazon as a tenant – and up to 15 million square feet in the U.S., including sites in San Antonio, Charlotte, and Atlanta.

MCM Musings: It’s easy to read between the lines of Gorrie’s quote: He sees the future success of his company tied more closely to ecommerce than to store fulfillment, as hundreds of store closings continue to roll in. The Bloomberg article mentions how a tight market for ecommerce fulfillment space is fueling a rise in rents in Canada and the U.S. There’s at least some relief in sight in the U.S., as the decline in the availability of industrial space has just started to slow down.